find-models

name	find-models
description	Find AI models on Replicate using search and curated collections.

Docs

• Reference: https://replicate.com/docs/llms.txt
• OpenAPI schema: https://api.replicate.com/openapi.json
• MCP server: https://mcp.replicate.com
• Per-model docs: https://replicate.com/{owner}/{model}/llms.txt
• Set Accept: text/markdown when requesting docs pages for Markdown responses.

Search

• Use the search API (GET /v1/search?query=...) to find models by task. Returns models, collections, and docs.
• Search returns metadata for each model including tags, generated_description, and run_count.
• The search API also returns matching collections alongside model results.
• Avoid listing all models via API. It's a firehose. Use targeted queries.

Collections

• Collections are curated groups of models maintained by Replicate staff.
• The official collection contains always-warm models with stable APIs and predictable pricing.
• Use collections to narrow a shortlist before deep comparison.
• List collections with GET /v1/collections. Get one by slug with GET /v1/collections/{slug}.

Reading model schemas

• Every model exposes its input/output schema via the models API (GET /v1/models/{owner}/{name}).
• Schema path: model.latest_version.openapi_schema.components.schemas.Input.properties
• Each property may include: type, description, default, minimum/maximum, enum, format (e.g. uri for file inputs).
• Always fetch the schema before running a model. Schemas change.

Picking the right model

• Prefer official models. They're always warm (no cold boot), have stable APIs, and predictable pricing.
• Prefer the latest version. If search returns v2.5 and v3.0, use v3.
• Run count can be misleading. Old models accumulate runs over time but may be outdated. A model with 10M runs from 2023 is likely worse than a model with 100K runs from 2025.
• Prefer recently released models. The AI space moves fast.
• Check model tags to help filter by task (image-generation, video, audio, etc.).

Model identifiers

• Official models use owner/name format (e.g. black-forest-labs/flux-2-klein-9b). Routes to the latest version automatically.
• Community models require owner/name:version_id. You must pin a specific version. Community models can cold-boot and take time to start.
• If you must use a community model, be aware that it can take a long time to boot. You can create always-on deployments, but you pay for model uptime.